November 7th – I’ve seen the video of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge a hundred times, but never have I seen this much footage from that fateful day. It makes a bit more sense that there was a lot of swaying going on, not just a quick collapse.

The Gig Harbor History Museum has a chunk of the steel bridge in its lobby. It is very hard to fathom how thick metal could be so twisted, but this video goes a long way in explaining things. Unbelievable!

One of my favorite things to do is watch movies….but not in the Cineplex, and not the big blockbusters. I love to watch really good movies at my favorite place, The Grand Cinema.

If I’m a good girl and get my work done early, I’ll sneak off to The Grand near the corner of Fawcett Ave and 6th St in Tacoma. I usually go alone. I usually pay a whooping $4.50 for admission. And I usually get a free bag of popcorn. Yup, I said free. As a member, you get some nice perks such as discounted ticket prices and a free bag of fresh popped corn topped with real butter. My son buys me a membership every year for Christmas. He knows how much I love going to movies, something he also enjoys. We rarely go together, but we do discuss films them afterward. Hey, modern communication!

Just in the past weeks I’ve seen James Gandolfini’s final film “Enough Said” (4 stars for middle agers); “Populaire” (fabulous French film about speed typing in the 1950′s); “The Butler” (you know this one); and Woody Allen’s latest “Blue Jasmine” (not a WA fan, but liked this very much). I told you….I see a LOT of movies.

So if you haven’t been to The Grand Cinema, give it a whirl. Check out today’s films at www.grandcinema.com.